Many specialty vehicles are fitted with conventional lighting assemblies for a variety reasons—although the principal reason in many cases is signaling. For instance, in the context of a specialty vehicle for police also known as a police vehicle, conventional lighting assemblies may be incorporated in both the exterior and interior of the vehicle to provide signaling capabilities.
While in an inactivated state, external lights may be more easily seen than internal lights by an observer. As a result, many times, efforts have been made to incorporate lights into the vehicle cabin to make the police vehicle less conspicuous. In these cases, consideration is often provided for placement of the lighting assembly to enhance safety or avoid unnecessary distraction. For instance, the lighting assembly may be positioned to substantially avoid an impact zone or to prevent a substantial amount of light from being directed into the vehicle cabin.
Specialty vehicles are often not owned outright and are instead leased for a specialty purpose for a period of time. However, the leased vehicle is typically not configured for the specialty purpose. Modifications are made to the leased vehicle so that it can perform according to the specialty purpose, such as a police vehicle. These modifications can physically alter the leased vehicle, meaning that, at the end of the lease, repair efforts must be made to substantially return the vehicle to its original state at the time of lease (if called for in the lease agreement).
In some instances, there is a preference for use of internal lights over external lights. Installation of internal lights can avoid routing of wire from within a vehicle cabin to an exterior of the vehicle cabin. Wiring for an internal light may be routed within the vehicle cabin, whereas wiring for an external light may utilize a hole through the forward firewall of the vehicle cabin. Such a hole would likely need to be filled or sealed after removal of the external light at the end of the lease period for the vehicle.